Neither dare one agree with catholic bishops if by chance they err in anything, with the result that their opinion is against the canonical Scriptures of God**.**
Augustine, *De unitate ecclesiae, *3, as cited by Martin Chemnitz, Examination of the Council of Trent, Part I (St. Louis: Concordia Publishing House, 1971), p. 157.It seems, De Maria, that Augustine’s understanding of the magisterium, and your understanding of it are at variance; he’s not as keen about the bishops’ authority as you are.
How so? I couldn’t find the entire document from which you took this statement but I found a larger piece which affords more context:
***Augustine (“De unitate ecclesiae”, [on the Unity of the Church]3):
“Let us not hear, this I say, this you say; but thus says the Lord. Surely it is the books of the Lord on whose authority we both agree and which we both believe. There let us seek the Church, there let us discuss our case.” He goes on: “Neither dare one agree with catholic bishops if by chance they err in anything, with the result that their opinion is against the canonical Scriptures of God.”
***Let us examine it in detail:
***Augustine (“De unitate ecclesiae”, [on the Unity of the Church]3):
***First let us note that the entire document is on the Unity of the Church. Now, why would Augustine undermine the authority of the Bishops upon which the Church is built? Let us quote St. Ignatius of Antioch who best expounds this authority:
Where the Bishop is present, there let the congregation gather, just as where Jesus Christ is, there is the Catholic Church. Without the Bishop’s supervision, no baptisms or love feasts are permitted. Since then, St. Augustine is himself a Bishop, why would he shoot himself in the foot?
But lets continue examining this quotation.
"Let us not hear, this I say, this you say;
***In other words, their individual words carry no weight. Pretty much, that describes the Protestant modus operandi. Protestants love to explain their interpretation of the Scriptures. But St. Augustine here rejects that notion.
***but thus says the Lord. Surely it is the books of the Lord on whose authority we both agree and which we both believe.
***Here it sounds as though St. Augustine reverts to an individual interpretation of the Scriptures saying, “this is what the Lord says”, but no, read on.
There let us seek the Church, there let us discuss our case." ***
What is this “let us seek the Church”? Doesn’t he know where the Church is to be found?
No, what he is saying is “let us ASK the Church”. Let us bring our case to the Church. That is where we will find the truth.
The final statement in this quote is the one you provided:
Neither dare one agree with catholic bishops if by chance they err in anything, with the result that their opinion is against the canonical Scriptures of God.
And this is a very Catholic statement. It simply recognizes that individual Bishops are not infallible.
So, from this brief quote, I believe that St. Augustine and I agree mighty well on the Magisterium. Especially since St. Augustine also said these things:
***“I should not believe the Gospel except as moved by the AUTHORITY of the CATHOLIC CHURCH.”
Against the Letter of Mani 5,6, 397 A.D.
“But in regard to those observances which we carefully attend and which the whole world keeps, and which derive not from Scripture BUT FROM TRADITION, we are given to understand that they are recommended and ordained to be kept either by the Apostles themselves or by plenary COUNCILS, THE AUTHORITY OF WHICH IS QUITE VITAL TO THE CHURCH.”
Letter of Augustine to Januarius 54,1,1, 400 A.D.
“I believe that this practice comes from apostolic tradition, just as so many other practices NOT FOUND IN THEIR WRITINGS nor in the councils of their successors, but which, because they are kept by the whole Church everywhere, are believed to have been commended and handed down by the Apostles themselves.”
St. Augustine, Baptism 1,12,20, 400 A.D.
****** “What they found in the Church they kept; what they learned, they taught; what they received from the fathers, they handed on to the sons.”
St. Augustine, Against Julian, 2,10,33, 421 A.D.***
capd.com.au/Links-CAPD/The-Origin-of-the-False-Doctrine-of-Sola-Scriptura.htm
However, if you disagree with how I’ve interpreted his words, perhaps you can provide a larger sampling of his treatise and we can delve further into his thoughts.
I’ll examine your other quote in the following message.
Sincerely,
De Maria